ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on 14 April at 14:14 CEST. The successful launch marks the beginning of an ambitious voyage to uncover the secrets of the ocean worlds around giant planet Jupiter.
A signal from JUICE was acquired by ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany about an hour after the lift-off. The spacecraft’s vast 27 m long solar arrays were unfurled and the probe was ready for an interplanetary journey to the gas giant.
“ESA, with its international partners, is on its way to Jupiter,” says ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher. “Juice’s spectacular launch carries with it the vision and ambition of those who conceived the mission decades ago, the skill and passion of everyone who has built this incredible machine, the drive of our flight operations team, and the curiosity of the global science community. Together, we will keep pushing the boundaries of science and exploration in order to answer humankind’s biggest questions.”
Read more about JUICE and its mission on the ESA website at: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice/ESA_s_Juice_lifts_off_on_quest_to_discover_secrets_of_Jupiter_s_icy_moons